The present invention relates to lake docks and more particularly to a lake dock pole accessory system comprising a bumper and a housing for use in connection with a lake dock pole.
Boats often have an aluminum gunnel molding in which a rubber or plastic strip is secured in order to provide a surface against which to rub without damaging the boat. However, metal dock posts sometimes stick to such rubber or plastic strip material and can even pull it out of the gunnel, causing the dock post to then rub against the aluminum gunnel molding. Alternatively, other boat bearing surfaces also typically wear against metal or other hard-surfaced dock posts, since most boat surfaces which protrude to potentially rub against dock poles are either softer than metal or have as a minimum a surface which could be scratched or damaged by a typical dock post.
It is known that a bumper of some sort between the boat and a metal or other dock post is desirable when mooring a boat against the boat-mooring side of a dock post in order to prevent such damage. Boaters typically use portable bumpers which are either strung from the boat or the dock post in an effort to keep the bumper between the boat and the dock post so that no damage occurs to the boat, such as when waves on the lake move the boat about. Those skilled in the art will be readily familiar with the difficulty of keeping such bumpers in place or at the correct level. Boaters have also used vehicle tires strung over lake dock posts in an effort to form a bumper. Frequently, however, these tires are at the wrong level, depending upon the boat being moored at the time or upon the degree of motion being subjected to the boat by waves in the lake.
In addition, persons familiar with lake docks recognize that lake dock poles, when installed with the dock in a lake, tend to have an upper portion which protrudes above the top surface of the lake dock at a height which varies from pole to pole. In such situations, there is a lack of uniform appearance at each pole portion of the dock.
In addition, lake dock poles typically are not made of sufficient length to extend far enough above the top surface of the lake dock to provide a convenient and uniform attachment height for a hand rail to be used along the length of the dock for safety or appearance reasons.
Furthermore, lake dock poles typically do not incorporate a means for readily incorporating lighting at the location of the pole.
Also, typical lake dock systems frequently do not incorporate a system for keeping the deck portions of a lake dock secured down to the hardware that supports the deck portions. This can cause significant difficulties when large waves arise, or when lake levels quickly rise as a result of rain storms or the like. In such situations, the decks can be floated away from the docks.
These and other shortcomings of lake dock poles or lake dock systems installed with lake dock poles are readily overcome by the present lake dock pole accessory system.